Kentucky Derby Pie

Below is my recipe for Kentucky Derby Pie. It is wickedly rich. I make it every year just for the Kentucky Derby. Today, it is on to the Preakness. Since it is run in Maryland, I'll be having some artichoke crab dip.

Kentucky Derby Pie

1 9-inch unbaked piecrust (I usually use Pillsbury refrigerated piecrusts)

1 c. granulated sugar

1/4 c. butter, softened

3 eggs

3/4 c. light corn syrup

1 t. vanilla extract

1 c. semisweet chocolate chips

1 c. chopped pecans

Optional: 2 t. Kentucky bourbon or 1/2 t. bourbon extract

Cream sugar & butter together. Add eggs one at a time, beating thoroughly after each addition until light and fluffy. Add corn syrup and vanilla. Mix in chocolate chips and nuts. Stir in bourbon or bourbon extract, if desired.

Spray 9-inch pie pan with butter-flavored cooking spray. Line with piecrust; fold under edges and flute. Do NOT prick piecrust.

Pour filling into piecrust. Protect piecrust edges with metal ring or aluminum foil. Bake in a preheated oven at 350-degree F oven for 45-50 minutes or until sharp knife inserted midway between center and edge comes out clean. Top with whipped cream, if desired. Serves 8-10.

Hot Tropical Elixir

Memorial Hospital's E.R. doctor sent me home with the usual prescriptions for bronchitis Sunday afternoon: antibiotic, Mulcinix DM, and prednisone. I take them dutifully as a compliant patient. However, what really got me breathing better Monday was what I call my Hot Tropical Elixir. I make it in a slow-cooker and drink 2-3 cups daily until I'm cured. The F.D.A. probably prohibits any healing claims, but I always feel better when I drink it if I have a cold, the flu, an asthma attack, sinus infection, allergies or bronchitis. Here's the recipe to try if you're suffering a respiratory ailment:

Hot Tropical Elixir

Ingredients:

1 46-oz. can orange juice (not drink)

1 46-oz. can pineapple-mango or pineapple juice

4 bags each green and black tea

4-6 Tbsp. honey

1-2 cinnamon sticks (optional)

1 unpeeled orange, sliced thinly

Directions:

Place all ingredients in a 4-quart slow cooker. Stir to mix and cook on low for at least 3-4 hours. Remove tea bags and cinnamon sticks (if used).

Serve hot with an orange slice and inhale steam while drink cools down enough to drink comfortably.

Refrigerate leftovers and reheat in microwave.

Drink 2 - 3 mugs per day until feeling better.

Hope it helps!

2010 Census Burning Taxpayers’ Money

My experience this week with the 2010 Census made me livid. Let me go back a few weeks, first.

So far, I have received one letter and two postcards informing me that the census form was coming and to please fill it out promptly. One of the postcards came AFTER I received and returned the completed census form. I have seen and continue to see numerous television and newspaper ads urging cooperation with the census. I have read about the cross-country tour of 2010 Census promoters; Jacksonville was visited this week.

So, when my census form arrived approximately three weeks ago, I filled it out the evening I received it and mailed it back the next day. Although it asks for more information than required by the Constitution, I was relieved to see it was far simpler and less intrusive that the last several I have filled out.

This Wednesday, April 7th, there was an announcement here where I live that a Census worker was in the building to help residents fill out their forms and to please let her in if she knocks. Okay, no problem. She did not stop by my apartment since I had mailed my form back, or so I thought.

We have lunch weekdays in our dining room downstairs at noon, and I went down a few minutes before. As soon as I wheeled into the dining room, this census woman, who it turned out is from Columbia and speaks barely passable English, accosted me. She told me she needed to fill out a census form for me. When I told her I had already done so and mailed it back, she informed me, “Oh, that doesn’t matter.” I gave her my birth date when she asked, and then wheeled around, announcing, “I need a drink.”

Returning to my seat with my lemonade, she told me she had filled out the form and had all the information she needed on me. I asked her pointedly, “Does this mean I will be counted twice?” She told me, “Oh, don’t worry about it.”

Excuse me, but I am going to worry about it. The Census is constitutionally mandated for one reason and one reason only: to determine how many U.S. representatives each State should have. Numbers matter. Duplications in the Census would result in a state having more representatives than it should.

All through lunch, I scolded about the utter waste of taxpayers’ money this Census is costing us. This woman was here most of the day. The job ads for Census workers here state the wages are $11.25 - $16.50/hour. At an average hourly rate of $13.87, her visit cost around $100.

Late that night, I was reading the news online. One of the articles from The Associated Press on yahoo! news was about the Census: “Census Bureau concerned about head count problems” http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100408/ap_on_go_ca_st_pe/us_census_debacle_scenarios . The Census Bureau, according to it, has a number of concerns regarding their efforts, including “mass identity theft.” It reported that census field workers would not be going out until May. They would wait until the mailed-in forms could be tabulated and lists created of those who had not returned them. Makes sense to me to do it that way.

That article really raised my suspicions. Who was this woman? Was she really from the Census Bureau? She had an I.D. badge hanging around her neck, but I did not look at it closely enough to verify it was a Census Bureau tag. I will ask Representative Ander Crenshaw, and Senators Bill Nelson and George LeMieux to investigate.

This whole Census boondoggle has given me yet another reason to participate in the Tea Party on Thursday, April 15th at the Jacksonville Landing. I want to tell the federal government to just stop it: stop wasting our money.

We American citizens are not stupid. Just send the census form and the vast majority will fill it out as requested. Then, go out and find those who do not or cannot do it by themselves. And, while you are at it, if you find illegals, do not count them. Call I.C.E. to round them up and have them deported. But that is a rant for another day.

White House Easter Egg Roll

Only Washington public school children have been invited to this year's annual Easter Egg Roll at the White House. Private school students have been excluded from the invitation list. Does this mean that President Obama's daughters will not be allowed to attend since they attend a private school? Unlikely.

Actually, I think the two girls should attend and participate. Then, at the end of the Easter egg hunt, their dad should take their baskets and give away all the eggs they collect to the poor public school children. This would be the perfect lesson for his daughters to learn what income redistribution really means.

"What if a crippling attack struck the country's digital infrastructure?" Current and former national government officials tackled the question in a Washington hotel ballroom on Tuesday, February 16, 2010. The results, which will be broadcast on a special CNN report soon, were not comforting.

Michael Chertoff served as the national security advisor in the exercise. The Bipartisan Policy Center sponsored the exercise. The scenario was developed by Georgetown University and companies such as PayPal developed the cyber-attack scenario. Participants did not have knowledge of the scenario beforehand.

For me, the most alarming statement was the last sentence in the Los Angeles Times story: "In the end, no grand plan emerged, but the group did agree to advise the president to federalize the National Guard, even if governors objected, and deploy the troops -- perhaps backed by the U.S. military -- to guard power lines and prevent unrest."

To read the full Los Angeles Times article, go to:
http://www.latimes.com/news/la-na-cyber-attack17-2010feb17,0,803757,full.story

Get Ye to the Alhambra Theatre in Jacksonville

Today, I enjoyed an absolutely delightful afternoon at the Alhambra Theatre & Dining here in Jacksonville, Florida. After a delicious luncheon buffet, I saw "High School Musical." The food was plentiful and excellent. The play was fun and full of youthful enthusiasm.

The Alhambra Theatre is the oldest professional dinner theatre in the country. After 42 years of continuous operation, it closed its doors briefly in 2009 due to the economy. Thankfully, a group of investors quickly reopened it in December 2009.

They recruited one of Jacksonville's premier chefs, Matthew Medure, to revamp the menu. The luncheon buffet today featured baked chicken, seafood newburg, baked ham, and a variety of sides. An absolutely fresh salad with an assortment of greens and vegetables was served at the table beforehand. Two desserts are offered: bread pudding and chocolate mousse. Both were good, but the mousse was to die for.

The group of twelve seniors I was with included four in electric wheelchairs and several others who use walkers or canes. Physical improvements to the theatre helped, especially a new fully accessible restroom. The staff could not have been more helpful in accommodating our needs. They made trips to the buffet to bring our food.

The Alhambra has always offered wonderful theatre productions. Fortunately, founder Tod Booth, Sr. continues to be involved. The actors and actresses today were excellent with strong voices and seemingly endless physical vigor for the strenuous dance routines.

I encourage everyone to support the Alhambra Theatre in Jacksonville. Coming shows here in 2010 include:
42nd Street: March 10 – April 25
Cinderella: June 16 – August 8
Amorous Crossing: August 11 – September 5
The Wedding Singer: September 8 – October 10
The King and I: October 13 – November 28
It’s a Wonderful Life: December 1 – December 24

The Alhambra Theatre is located at 12000 Beach Blvd. on Jacksonville's Southside. Their phone number is (904) 641-1212. Go to www.alhambrajax.com for current ticket prices or to make reservations online. You will be glad you did.

Bah Humbug to Political Correctness

It's that time of year again when liberals who worship at the altar of diversity and political correctness attack Christmas. They do it by convincing retailers to reject terms like "Merry Christmas," "Christmas trees," "Christmas shopping," "Christmas gifts," etc. Instead, everything should be generic, such as "Happy Holidays" or "Season's Greetings." The reason for the season is to be avoided at all costs.

The latest example is at St. John's Town Center in Jacksonville, Florida. Instead of a "Christmas tree," they lit "The Great Tree." Funny, it's decorated like a Christmas tree, but evidently Druids manage this shopping mall owned by Simon Management Group.

Now, the St. John's Town Center is one of my favorite places to shop and dine. I was really looking forward to spending a day there in the next month now that I have my electric wheelchair. I was going to explore from one end to the other and end with dinner at The Cheesecake Factory.

However, I have a strict policy that my Christmas dollars do not go to malls and retailers where Christmas is not acknowledged or is disguised. Let them rely on non-Christians and pagans to move them into the black at the end of their financial year. So, instead of St. John's Town Center, I will go to the Jacksonville Landing where they still have a "Christmas" tree.

Here's the complaint I sent to Simon Property Group from their website's feedback form: http://www.simon.com/about_simon/contact_spg/default.aspx

St. Johns Town Center in Jacksonville, Florida has fallen victim to the silliness of political correctness. Instead of having a "Christmas" tree, someone decided to call it "The "Great Tree." I can only guess this person was afraid to offend believers of other religions by calling what is clearly a Christmas tree by its proper name.

However, as a Christian, I am offended when people refuse to acknowledge with its correct name the Christmas holiday I am celebrating and for which I am shopping for presents and decorations. I am not celebrating just any holiday or season. I am buying Christmas presents, I am putting up Christmas decorations, I am sending Christmas cards, etc.

This silliness and discrimination against Christians needs to stop. If you had a Hanukkah Menorah, would you call it "The Great Candle Display"? I doubt it.

I was looking forward to going out to St. Johns Town Center to do some Christmas shopping and enjoy dinner at The Cheesecake Factory in the next few weeks. However, I refuse to spend my Christmas shopping dollars at malls or stores that refuse to recognize the season for which I am shopping. I will go where I hear and see "Merry Christmas," not just the generic "Happy Holidays" and "Seasons Greetings." You can keep your "Great Tree." I plan to shop where they still have Christmas trees.

Another way to contact Simon Property Group, owner of St. John's Town Center, is:

Corporate Headquarters
Simon Property Group, Inc.
225 West Washington Street
Indianapolis, Indiana 46204
(317) 636-1600